Think about a sumptuous, warm sticky date pudding, with a dollop of creamy vanilla ice cream.

With the right ingredients and recipe, you can make a cake that prompts people to physically drool, get a fork, and step over their own mother to shove that sugary goodness right into their face.

Similarly, with the right tools and education, it is possible to convey a message to the world that leaves people scrambling to hear more about what you have to say. Sometimes, they even ACT differently as a result.

That’s some serious power. In fact, it's a power all of us are capable of mastering.

And as you know - with serious amounts of power comes a series level of responsibility...

“Guns don’t kill people; people kill people.”

Most likely someone from the NRA

I’ve learnt that communication and marketing are tools with the potential to heal and empower the lives of others.

These tools can also be used as weapons. Words of Mass Destruction that kick us while we are bleeding and get us to buy crap that is down right bad for us, and bad for the planet.

It all comes down to the person using it.

As a newbie to digital marketing, I’m learning the ‘tips and tricks’ that trigger people to want to click on my stuff, keep their eyeballs on my page and even get people to take action on a piece of content.

I’ve sat behind my computer screen deploying these 'tips and tricks', and wondered to myself... am I being manipulative?

I mean, I’m in the midst of building a an online business. Obviously, to be successful I need to be able to stimulate some type of emotion that would cause people to act differently.

Well, I came across a distinction that has helped me to nullify my marketing guilt.

That key insight was learning the difference between manipulation and influence.

The difference is in your intention.

Here's what I have to say about it.

Love comes when manipulation stops; when you think more about the other person than about his or her reactions to you. When you dare to reveal yourself fully. When you dare to be vulnerable.

Joyce Brothers

Personally - I think this is what the business world needs now more than ever.

You cannot fake a good intention. People can smell it a mile off when you are bullshitting them.

I always wondered if it was possible to build a business around being who I am. To be honest, I spent the majority of my adulthood terrified of getting to the end of my life, without having ever found my voice.

I used to spend my days coasting on autopilot in mundane jobs for a paycheck. Catering to everyone else's’ needs, without stopping to consider my own.

I can speak from experience when I say this: with every year that passes, if you are not exercising and growing your influence in the world, your entire life atrophies.

Tired of being a shadow of who you really are? Find out how you can plug into an education and community that will invigorate you to become a powerful influencer in lives of your family, friends and the world.